


Title Fight

by TeamHammerWeasel



Series: With Your Best Man By Your Side [2]
Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Pre-Thor (2011), Established Relationship, Fluff and Crack, Idiots in Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22222762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamHammerWeasel/pseuds/TeamHammerWeasel
Summary: Married life inevitably leads to conflict. Such as who adopts which title when it comes to a hypothetical ascension to the throne.(A.K.A. apparently this story needed a second epilogue.)
Relationships: Loki/Thor (Marvel)
Series: With Your Best Man By Your Side [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1599619
Comments: 6
Kudos: 81





	Title Fight

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: any actual jokes in this were stolen from my much funnier sister. Thanks, sis.

In retrospect, it might have been in Thor's best interests to turn around and walk away. It had worked on other occasions when he had run into his brother staring out of the window, brow furrowed in intense concentration, mouth drawn into a thin line that spelled out _keep your distance if you wish to avoid sudden snake bites in bed tonight_. It was a look that, with perhaps the exception of their parents, would already have made everyone else in Asgard retreat out of the room just in case.

But no. Thor Odinson, crown prince of Asgard and husband to possibly the most difficult man in all Nine Worlds, decided for some unfathomable reason that approaching and, Norns forbid, _talking_ were called for.

"Is something amiss?"

Loki turned his head in manner that made it clear he had known of Thor's presence and had merely refused to acknowledge it before. "How could anything be amiss with the apple of my eye in sight, brother?"

Thor sighed. He had made it a point to call Loki only by his name ever since their relationship had taken a sharp turn into tangled confusion. Loki, meanwhile, used _brother_ and _husband_ indiscriminately and so loudly Thor could scarcely believe the rumours flying about were as scattered as they were.

"I will cut to the chase," he said, decisively. "Have I wronged you?" If he had, he likely wouldn't find out till Loki's inevitable revenge for the slight was well underway, but it didn't hurt to ask. Norns, it might even help.

A suggestion of a smile which flitted across Loki's features. In other words, Thor wasn't to blame. Probably. "Did Father speak with you yesterday?"

"Briefly."

"And did he discuss his plans for the future?"

The All-Father had been, to put it extremely mildly, somewhat miffed to awaken from his most recent Odinsleep to find his plans long since subverted and his sons married to one another. All the same, Thor was surprised by how smoothly it had passed over. Instead of imprisonment or executions, the only real fallout had been a long, quiet argument between Odin and Frigga, held in such privacy even Loki ultimately admitted he couldn't spy on it, followed by a certain chilliness from their father in private. In public, however, Odin made a great show of wishing to cement good relations between Asgard and Jotunheim through further acts of diplomacy.

Thor kept his hope that such speeches were to pave the path to an official announcement of the marriage to himself. Stranger things had happened. Such as their marriage in the first place.

He considered his answer. " _Discuss_ isn't really the word. He told me that I remain crown prince, and that was that."

Loki nodded. Then, he nodded again, more decisively. After the third time, Thor realised he nodding towards something specific, namely a piece of parchment on his desk.

Thor picked up the parchment and gave it a read. His hope to discover a lead to some exciting enemy plot to be thwarted were quickly dashed. The contents were a mere two words. _Prince consort._

He put the note back down. "Based on Father's current mood, this is looking fairly far into the future."

"You should always have a plan, if only to have something from which to deviate."

Thor smiled. It warmed his heart to know Loki's first plan involved staying married to him. "I approve."

"You would." A sudden spike of venom, followed by Loki crossing his legs and looking up at Thor in challenge. "I don't see why I should settle for prince consort while you get to be king."

It was only his increased experience of dealing with Loki that came part and parcel with married life that kept Thor from from throwing his hands in the air. This old song and dance, was it? At least the glint in Loki's eye and the fact he was actually airing his complaint out loud suggested it was all in jest, a feigned annoyance invented to pass the time.

Fine. Two could play the game. "Prince consort is tr—" He found a problem with his own argument before he could even finish it. The true tradition in Asgard was having King Odin and Queen Frigga on the throne, a thousand years in the running. He smiled instead. "Prince consort has a nice ring to it." 

"I'm glad you think so. Prince Consort Thor does indeed sound pleasant."

Thor nodded. Then, he furrowed his brow. "Wait, no. I will be king."

Loki spun his head like a startled ferret, matching Thor's frown. "I'm not the one whose name shares half its letters with 'consort.'"

 _Yours does too when spoken out loud_ wasn't going to sway anyone when the original argument was so baffling. Instead, Thor opted for sincerity. "Yours shares half with 'love of my life'"

"So you will agree to be the consort?"

"The way I see it, those two things have no relation."

Something hurt flashed behind Loki's eyes. It was gone the next moment, replaced by exaggerated irritation, but once Thor took note of it, he could no longer forget about it.

So. The argument wasn't entirely a gag stemming from childhood disputes. There was something real and raw lurking behind this seemingly pointless game of titles. Something which, if Thor had learned anything, needed to be dealt with accordingly.

"Loki." He gestured at the chairs to his left and took one, then waited to see if Loki would consent to take the other. "Is this about the title or the position itself?"

"Interesting." Loki sauntered over and took the seat. He leaned back against the headrest, something vaguely smile-like returning to his lips. "Is Thor Odinson resorting to words over swinging his big hammer around? I didn't think I'd see the day."

"You did say the other day it was time for me to learn some new tricks."

"Indeed." Loki tilted his head. "A different title could make the position more appealing."

Now they were getting somewhere. "Fire away."

Loki crossed his arms over his chest and fell silent. Thor suspected he had an answer on the ready long before he actually made one. "Perhaps something like... Princess Overlord."

"No." The word escaped Thor's mouth before he could think better of it.

Loki straightened his posture with a dangerous twist to his mouth. "Which part of the title is offensive to you?"

"The latter." Thor brightened. "I have no objection to Princess Consort if that is what you p—"

"I would rather think of something else. Something such as Emperor."

"No."

"The High Commander of Asgard."

"No."

"The Grand Usurping Frost Giant Who Is the Real Power Behind the Throne."

"No!"

Loki twisted away, feigning hurt. "Have you any suggestions of your own, or did you simply come here to annoy me?"

"Loki..." He reached for Loki's hand. Loki pulled away, but he had at least met his eyes again.

It was still mostly a farce, but Thor hadn't forgotten the suggestion of real emotion behind it. Treated poorly, this could well be the kind of thing that resulted in waking up on the wrong side of an enraged tiger with a spike through its tail. "If it is really just the title, you may call yourself whatever you please within reason. If the day eventually comes—"

He paused there, surprised by his own words. When had the notion of assuming the throne gone from _when_ to _if_? He had had every expectation of being made king very soon before the entire wedding disaster had turned everything upside down. Stranger yet, where was the anger he always felt when being denied his birthright?

He was brought back to the moment by Loki's quiet words. "That day may come sooner than you think."

Thor sincerely hoped that wasn't a covert confession to an assassination plot. "What I meant to say was that once Father retires, it doesn't matter which title either of us assumes. We will rule together."

The silence returned, having apparently just sauntered to the door before deciding to whirl back in. It was, if nothing else, much warmer than it had been before. Loki looked at him keenly.

Thor smiled. "We were both born to be kings, and two heads are better than one. And if it's the title that's the issue, we will find another loophole to nix it. No-one can force us to be king and consort against our wishes."

"King consort..."

Thor blinked. Loki had averted his eyes, looking, for some baffling reason, at the cuffs of his robes. 

"What did you say?"

"King consort." Loki raised his gaze. "That has a tolerable ring to it."

Hope splashed in Thor's chest. "Tolerable enough to use?"

"Possibly." Loki got up and resumed his previous position by the window. The way his shoulders were drawn was wholly altered: easy and relaxed. "It is all academic, of course. At this point, anyone who wishes to wield Gungnir in Father's stead will have to wrestle it from his cold, dead grasp." He looked Thor straight in the eye. "And we would never wish for that, would we?"

"No-one could." Thor hoped his sincerity came through in each syllable. "Except perhaps King Laufey."

"Indeed." Loki smiled, with a sudden radiance which just might have been sincere. "I can't bring myself to care of the opinion of someone whose grasp will be cold both dead and alive."

Thor laughed, more loudly as he witnessed Loki smirk in return. He joined Loki's side. "Whatever happens, we will manage it."

"We have so far." Loki turned to face Thor "For now, we should aid Father with his propaganda campaign. It just might allow us to make our marriage public in four hundred years rather than five. Assuming you don't mind being known as an incestuous Jotun-fancier."

Thor laughed again and gave his response in the form of a kiss, feeling more free than he had in weeks. If Loki also suspected Odin meant to one day acknowledge their marriage, it had to be true.

As they parted, he continued smiling. "As long as I don't have to adopt Incestuous Jotun-fancier as an official title."

"Time will tell, Thor Odinson. Time will tell." There was a mischievous glint in Loki's eye. He disengaged himself and swept past Thor towards the door. "I am going to go take a bath. You may join me if you wish."

Thor found himself dragged out of the room and after Loki by a sudden great interest in cleanliness. Perhaps sometimes negotiation really did work just as well as swinging Mjolnir did. Besides, he now knew to keep his eyes open when it came time for the official bestowal of titles.

But that was a problem for another, distant day. In the current moment, he was up for something steamy.


End file.
